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Support
HasNa Program Quick Links
Nadia
Karayianni (right) and Tulin Aker (left) during a visit to an
NGO in Washington, DC |
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Kars Eco-tourism Training Program
Kuyucuk Lake in Kars, Turkey is a beautiful wetland area and home to a diverse variety of bird species that attract many tourists every year. It is a protected bio diversity area, but farming and livestock ranching pose a threat to the lake's ecosystem. The area has the significant but untapped potential to become a vibrant eco-tourism spot. Solution In May 2010, HasNa partnered with KuzeyDoga Society, a Turkish environmental NGO, to help the community in Kars preserve their natural ecosystem, while developing an alternative source of sustainable income from eco-tourism. HasNa provided training that focused on local environmental protection and conservation of natural resources, conflict resolution skills, and the eco-tourism industry. Desired Impact HasNa's training mobilized the community to begin the initial stages of transitioning to a more sustainable source of income and empowered them to better protect Kuyucuk Lake. Conflict resolution training was an integral part of the program to help prepare community members to handle conflicts that typically arise during transitions. HasNa also identified opportunities for several follow-up job-training programs on the eco-tourism industry based on feedback from the community, including handcraft marketing, food service, and hospitality management. HasNa will measure outcomes as community members continue to implement their own projects and business ventures. Program Management Training 2010 All over Turkey, non-profit organizations work vigorously to meet the needs of individuals and communities in a diverse set of areas.
implementing projects are complex and challenging. Successful management is crucial to sustaining an organization and implementing projects effectively and efficiently. HasNa’s Program Management Training seeks to equip socially conscious leaders in the non-profit sector with the tools and knowledge to successfully manage their organizations and projects.
Participants were continually encouraged to think about how they could apply the tools and knowledge they acquired to their current and future work. During the last day of the program, participants presented program action plans that they will implement in Turkey. Topics ranged from organic beekeeping techniques to helping farmers diversify their income to establishing a women’s development center. The presentations reflected not only participants’ passion and commitment to their work but also the valuable skills they developed over the course of the training.
The program participants overwhelmingly expressed how beneficial the Program Management Training was for their skill development. They also expressed that the training had made an immediate impact on how they view their leadership roles in their respective organizations. HasNa’s Program Management Training is unique and challenging, collaborative and inspiring. The participants continuing work will be a testament to the effectiveness and endurance of HasNa’s Program Management Training. Back to Top TOG Conflict Resolution Training Program Recognizing the need and the benefit of teaching youth how to manage conflicts, HasNa conducted a two day conflict resolution and mediation training sessions for Toplum Gönüllüleri (TOG) volunteers and staff in Istanbul in 2008. TOG is an organization that seeks to achieve peace and social change by engaging the youth sector in volunteer projects. The youth volunteers develop and lead projects themselves, an experience which will help them make greater contributions as adults but also underscores the need for conflict resolution training that will enhance their leadership capabilities. Back to Top Summer Camp Teachers Training Program
t-shirts during their training program in Sanliurfa, Turkey In 2006, HasNa sponsored a one week training program for teachers at a summer camp in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The thirteen participants learned conflict resolution skills as well as teaching methods that incorporate inquiry-based learning. The skills the participants learned provided an instant and direct benefit to the 160 children that they taught at the camp in Sanliurfa. The children, who came from many cultural backgrounds, ranged in age from twelve to fifteen years. The curriculum at the camp centered on learning about agriculture, English language and computer skills in addition to traditional camp activities. The need for training the camp teachers on instructional methods was vital, as some of the instructors had no prior experience in teaching. In addition, the conflict resolution training was beneficial in dealing with conflicts that would inevitably arise while working with children. Back to Top English Language Teacher Training Program
In 2006, HasNa held a training program for twenty-five English language teachers in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The training, which was led by Bennett Lindauer of Georgetown University’s Center for Intercultural Education and Development, sought to provide the teachers with the skills and techniques to become more effective instructors and to increase English-language proficiency in the region. While participants of the training program already taught English language at a range of levels, from primary school all the way through high school, none had previously received the type of training that HasNa’s program was able to offer. The program succeeded in sparking a lot of interest in the English teachers and has consequently helped improve the English language skills of a number of Sanliurfa’s youth. CYDD Conflict Resolution Training Program
CYDD is a Turkish volunteer institution that uses its skills and experience to help Turkey achieve a better civil society. It focuses on teaching young women and housewives skills that would help them find jobs and achieve financial independence. In 2006, HasNa taught CYDD staff in Istanbul conflict management and how to solve problems, assured that the knowledge would benefit them in their jobs or in their volunteer work. Some of these people go to villages in southeastern Turkey to try to convince fathers to send their daughters to school. Back to Top
In keeping with our goal to continually support
the development of HasNa program graduates, HasNa sponsored English
language classes for past HasNa training participants living in
Sanliurfa in 2005. English language training for HasNa graduates
is necessary for success in the global sphere and to support sustainable
development in the southeastern region of Turkey. This type of training
also empowers HasNa graduates to build even further on the skills
they have learned and to make greater contributions to their communities. In 2008, HasNa played a significant role in the implementation of the Volunteer Network Project in Cyprus, a two-year project funded by UNDP-ACT and sponsored by the UN, which aimed to foster cooperation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Volunteer Network Project was implemented by The Management Centre, The NGO Support Centre and HasNa. The project aims to build local and international networks among organizations in Cyprus that work with volunteers. Volunteerism is an essential part of an prosperous and engaged civil society. By promoting volunteerism in Cyprus, the Volunteer Network Project will gather the skills Cypriots already possess into a powerful force capable of accomplishing real change and improvement. Such island-wide cooperation will encourage more individuals to invest in the peaceful development of their communities and establish new relationships with one another based on common interest. Crucial to the project’s success is the establishment of a strong infrastructure that is capable of effectively promoting, supporting and celebrating organized forms of volunteer action. In order to accomplish this, HasNa joined the efforts of the Volunteer Network Project and conducted a two-week training program in Washington, DC. The training program hosted two project coordinators participating in the Volunteer Network Project. One of the project coordinators was from The Management Centre located in North Cyprus and the other was from the NGO Support Centre in the South. After receiving two days of conflict resolution training, the project coordinators visited several organizations in the Washington, DC area that work on women’s, youth, health and environmental issues. These visits provide the project coordinators with techniques for how to recruit, supervise, motivate and train volunteers that can be utilized to enhance volunteer action on Cyprus. The participants also learned how to engage the nonworking sector (i.e., students, housewives, the unemployed, the retired) in volunteerism to further strengthen the volunteer infrastructure on Cyprus. The information and training gathered during these visits has been compiled into a brochure that will be used by similar organizations in Cyprus so that they may develop their own volunteer programs. Back to Top In an effort to encourage further realization of the goals of HasNa participants and further contribute to development in HasNa’s program areas, HasNa supports a number of pilot projects undertaken by its program graduates which follow-up on the skills they acquired during training. HasNa places a great emphasis on follow-up activities because they reinforce the professional and conflict resolution skills participants learn during training and disseminate them to others members of the participant’s local community to help the area develop. Follow-up projects take many different forms. Generally, they seek to achieve one or more of the following:
Past follow-up projects include:
The Greenhouse Project began in 2008 when Mustafa Calpan, a GAP engineer and graduate of our Farm Extension Worker training program, proposed that HasNa sponsor the construction of a greenhouse for a widowed woman named Esmer Kaydas living outside of Diyarbakir, Turkey with her family. Calpan enlisted the help of the local government, which offered land, seeds and technical expertise to match the construction material provided by HasNa. Besides offering much needed financial security for the family that received the greenhouse, the project offers a compelling model for a more efficient and productive form of year-round agriculture that other farmers in the region can benefit from. A number of local farmers attended the greenhouse’s opening, which also included a reception at which the benefits of greenhouse agriculture were explained. Since then at least 10 farmers have contact Mr. Calpan to express their interest in starting greenhouses of their own. This project shows how women and HasNa graduates can take a leading role in finding new and innovative ways to provide for their families. Back to Top Plum Trees as an Alternative Crop in the GAP Region
In 2006, HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Abrak, a participant in HasNa’s water resource management training in 2002, to demonstrate for other farmers in his village how to grow plums. Fruit grows particularly well in the Sanliurfa province, yet many farmers are still wary of straying from traditional crops such as wheat, barley, cotton and corn even in spite of their low yield and low profit. This is largely due to insufficient technical knowledge of fruit cultivation. Mr. Abrak’s aim was therefore to teach fifteen farmers in his village how to prepare, plant, and prune plum saplings and how to properly irrigate and fertilize the trees. Through a hands-on learning technique, many farmers were able to plant their own plum orchards and successfully market their fruit to the local community. Though the project was only funded for one year, Mr. Abrak continued to plan group meetings with the farmers to follow-up on their progress. Back to Top Sanliurfa HasNa Participants Coordination Project In support of HasNa’s program graduates, HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Yazar in 2006 to assess the ongoing needs of past HasNa training participants currently working in the Sanliurfa province. Mr. Yazar, who participated in HasNa’s water resource management training in 2000, interviewed twenty-six people, all of whom worked as managers of the Irrigation Associations in the province, about what problems and concerns they have faced since attending a HasNa training session. The results of Mr. Yazar’s survey helped to enhance communication between the graduates and coordinate joint ventures as well as created the mechanisms for improved problem solving. Back to Top Drip Irrigation System for Pistachio Gardens in Sanliurfa
In 2006 HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Yazar, a graduate of HasNa’ water resource management training in 2000, to carry out a two-year project to promote drip irrigation systems for pistachio trees in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The purpose of Mr. Yazar’s project was to introduce a modern irrigation system to fellow farmers to demonstrate how they could increase the yield of their pistachio trees from every other year to every year and how they could improve the quality of the pistachio fruits. After installing an irrigation system on his five-acre pistachio garden in 2006, Mr. Yazar noted a 40-50% increase in yield. Though pistachios are a major source of income for farmers in southeastern Turkey, drip irrigation systems had not been previously applied to the region largely because farmers did not believe pistachios needed irrigation. Yet after observing the immensely positive results Mr. Yazar was achieving and learning from his sample project, Mr. Yazar’s neighboring farmers began building their own irrigation systems starting in the fall of 2007. Back to Top Encouraging Fava Bean and Pea Cultivation during the Winter in the GAP Region
In response to a need by small land farmers in Sanliurfa, Turkey to increase their yearly profits, HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Abrak in 2005 to create an educational fava bean and pea cultivation project. Mr. Abrak, who participated in HasNa’s water resource management training in 2002, felt that fava beans and peas grown during the winter would be an excellent supplement to small land farmers’ income. Through a hands-on training program, local farmers learned how to prepare the soil, install an irrigation system, plant, fertilize, harvest, and market their crop. Prior to this program there had been no other examples of fava bean and pea cultivation in the region. By implementing the techniques they learned in the program, the participants increased their incomes, created job opportunities for their community, and passed the knowledge they had learned on to their neighboring farmers. Encouraging others to grow fava beans and peas has helped to further development in the region and has led to an increase in the cultivation of alternative crops. Back to Top Strawberry Cultivation as an Alternative Crop in the GAP Region
In 2005, HasNa awarded a small grant to Cetin Sen, a graduate of HasNa’ water resource management training in 2003, to start a program in Sanliurfa, Turkey teaching local small land farmers about strawberry production. Recent developments in irrigation had made it possible for farmers in the region to grow cotton, yet due to the large cost of cultivation, small land farmers were not able to make enough money from their crop to earn a living. Mr. Sen’s goal for the strawberry cultivation program was to teach these farmers how to grow and market an alternative crop – strawberries – so that they would be able to earn a greater profit off their land. Local farmers received hands-on training from the planting process all the way through harvesting and marketing. Mr. Sen’s program not only gave small land farmers the opportunity to increase their income, it also created many new job opportunities, especially for women. Once farmers realized the profit they were making, they were more willing to try alternative crops. Most importantly, though, these farmers gained the self-confidence and the ability to make a meaningful impact on their community. Back to Top In 2004, HasNa awarded a small grant to Servet Yazar to create Harran Su, a newspaper which provides those in the agricultural sector information on new farming techniques, irrigation and water use innovations, and the resources available to the farming community.
Mr. Yazar, who participated in HasNa’s water resource management training in 2000, sought to familiarize farmers in southeastern Turkey with the latest farming developments and to develop a network of individuals who will be able to share farming skills with one another. Mr. Yazar also saw Harran Su as an opportunity to work with and connect farmers from Turkey’s diverse cultural groups. In 2006, Mr. Yazar received another small grant from HasNa to follow up on the progress Harran Su had made in the two years since it was created. Harran Su had recently merged with Tekno GAP, a well know agricultural newspaper in Turkey, in order to provide a stronger publication. HasNa’s small grant helped to expand the distribution of Harran Su as well as develop the capabilities of the newspaper’s staff. Back to Top Strengthening Relations between Farmers and the Water Users’ Association in the Harran Plain In 2004, HasNa awarded a small grant to Fatih Yildiz, a participant of HasNa’s water resource management training program in 2000, to conduct interviews and informational sessions with farmers and water engineers of the Harran Plain in southeastern Turkey regarding their often tense relationship with each other. Agriculture is the main source of income in southeastern Turkey and therefore, maintaining a positive relationship between farmers and water engineers is important to the development of the region. The study aimed to assess the local farmers’ understanding of the Water Users’ Association (WUA), its functions, and past work as well as to inform the farmers of their rights to water and land usage. The study also sought to assess how well the WUA understood the farmers’ water needs and the internal grievances among the water engineers. Through questionnaires, interviews, group meetings, and mapping of the irrigation network, Mr. Yildiz revealed several key problems that have hindered relations between the two groups. Problems included (1) insufficient and poorly maintained drainage canals which resulted in a decreased crop yield and damaged roads; (2) water shortages; and (3) conflict between how much water farmers felt they could take and how much control the WUA felt they had over water distribution. By making both parties conscious of the problems which existed, Mr. Yildiz’s study helped to open the lines of communication between the WUA and the farmers. Both water officials and farmers have started changing their attitudes towards one another and are now more willing to work together to address problems.
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HasNa
Inc., founded in 1998, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
based in Washington, D.C. |
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Organizations are promoting human rights, improving access to education and healthcare, addressing environmental damage, promoting gender and ethnic equality, fostering economic and social development… The list goes on. Good intentions are always admirable, but the endurance and effectiveness of an organization depends on successful management. 
HasNa invited eleven passionate leaders for the Program Management Training 2010 held in Washington, D.C. between April 2nd and 24th. During the two-week program the participants developed their skills in strategic planning, collaborative communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. Program Management Training stresses the importance of managing day-to-day activities—recruiting volunteers, hiring employees, fundraising, running payroll, recordkeeping—as well as long-term strategic management to remain effective and flexible in an ever-changing environment.
Village. In addition, they spent two days with Edna Povich from the Center for Dispute Settlement, learning about the differences between collaboration and competition and taking part in realistic simulation scenarios to develop their collaboration skills. Participants also spent a day at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to learn more about the day-to-day responsibilities of management.
